Johanna Wells

I never turn down the occasion of looking at photos of homes or MLS pictures, for me it is a productive means of keeping the eye trained and spotting the positive and negative attributes of a home.

I'm always flabbergasted of how many home sellers don't bother to prepare their home before the Realtor takes photos to share in marketing material and include on the MLS. What surprises me the most is that the agent takes the picture of the home "as is" and never recommended the seller stage the home prior to photos being taken. I quickly move on to the next listing if the home looks dirty, cluttered or dated (hey isn't that what the buyers do?).

This isn't rocket science, staging has been preached for a long time now. The photos that are taken for online marketing and flyers are one of the most important tasks that you can do to sell your home in any real estate market. It's a buyers market these days so it is crucial that a seller sets their house apart from the competition, connect with buyers on a positive emotional level. Sometimes it's as easy as rearranging the furniture or repurposing the dining room that was converted into an office, back into its intended purpose (a dining room), geez if it is advertised as a dining room and the photo shows an office that might be just a little confusing for buyers, that holds true for repurposing bedrooms too.

We're fishing for the broadest range of fish; the bait we put on the end of the hook needs to attract the most fish. Not everybody likes wallpaper, not everybody likes bold color, they don't like removing wallpaper and they don't like painting, which is why it probably wasn't done in the first place. Mental note to self buyers like homes that are move in ready (unless it is a fixer upper, of course)

An outdated home has to do a few extra things, update lighting, update hardware on cabinets and drawers, maybe flooring and counters if the competition has done so, to name a few. It kicks up the marketing and gives the potential buyer something to brag about to friends and family. Yes, homeownership is still one of the American dreams, goals and accomplishments in life.

If you are a Realtor you have heard it before, this staging a home stuff is not a big secret (maybe for sellers it is if they don't watch staging shows on HGTV) which is why I'm confused
why so many of the listings still have photos of dirty, cluttered or outdated homes! Potential buyers are the consumer, getting them to buy is the goal. Do it right the first time, before the photos are taken and you only have to be inconvenienced and live differently for a while. It might mean less furniture, no home office in the dining room, putting things away when you're done with them, no photos of family on every wall, it might mean painting a neutral-color to elicit the feeling of practicality, timelessness, and quality.

But what staging will do is get your home sold while your dirty, cluttered, outdated competition lingers on the market with little or no activity month after month, reducing their sales price and the neighbors getting ticked about property values. And you, you will have long since moved in to your new home and designing it for you and your family.

Every now and then we have to do something that is just a little bit differnt than what we are used to seeing. So, here it is! Lucky for me (and you) I was furtunate enough to receive a tweet from Wes Kennedy the Group Art Director for Home Accents Today. Thanks Wes! Enter to win by clicking the link below.

John Strauss Furniture Design is having a tweet contest during the High Point, North Carolina Market Oct. 17-22, 2009. You do not need to be present to win. You can pick up your table from them on Thursday at the end of the day - or if you want us to ship the give away table we can do that at no additional charge to a North America address.

If you would like to become a friend/follower of @lookgroupinc on Twitter in order to see the occasional tweet about what I am up to in the world of staging, marketing and much more, please click here. That is up to you and has no bearing on the contest outcome.

You may also follow me at http://staginghomesblog.blogspot.com/

We have all seen them, basements boasting imposing, ugly, harsh, boring, metal or concrete window wells, peeking through our windows and into our beloved basements. Cover the window with window coverings and we rid our basements of the much coveted light that our buyers cherish and wind up with a dark and dreary space. Leave the window uncovered and we see naked metal or concrete scarring what could otherwise be an attractive wall.

Since a finished basement is an extension of the living space it only stands to reason that we should treat it as such. If the window frame is in good condition and the view to the exterior is pleasant, we should let the window act as a frame to what is outside. So, what is a seller to do, with a view to an ugly window well? Hide it!

Windowell Expressions has been hiding ugly foundations, skirting on mobile and modular homes, weathered retaining walls, and using their decorative stone look material on bars, wine cellers, and on walls to camouflage the ugly and now sell window well liners in various stone finishes that turn drab window wells into a pleasant lifelike view of natural stone.

This is one of those products that may help your home stand out from the competition.

Friday has arrived with thoughts of the weekend, milder temperatures, and my to-do list of organizing my garage. My garage appears to be a dumping ground of clutter from the accumulation of things that I did not want to take the time to put away over the summer. It is so packed that even my truck is afraid to spend the night inside. I have a pretty good idea of what people may be thinking when they drive by and take a peek inside. I'm not selling my home but I should remember that an organized garage suggests that the entire house has been well maintained. An organized garage increases the value -- not a lot -- but it does help. I found this photo from Gladiator Garage Works and it's a great example that illustrates clutter in the garage undermines our marketing efforts when it comes time to sell.

Some of us might not have the budget to invest in an organizing system but we can take a day to empty the garage, sweep, clean, perhaps paint the walls, remove stains from the floor, get everything sorted out and put back neatly in place. I know that's what I'm going to and when I'm done, I'm going to grab a cool one, get comfortable and finish reading Twitter Power.